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Allegations of abuse
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Home / police allegations / Rickards,
Shipton, Schollum vs Jane Doe Page 4 - Initial Reaction to
Not Guilty Verdict |
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Rape Crisis is calling for juries
to be informed about any previous convictions of defendants. Suspended Assistant Police Commissioner,
Clint Rickards, and two former officers were yesterday found not guilty of
kidnapping and indecently assaulting a woman in Rotorua between November 1983
- August 1984. The complainant was aged 16 at the time. Following the acquittals by a jury
of eight men and four women in the High Court at Suppression orders were lifted,
revealing they were two of four men sent to prison in 2005 for the abduction
and rape of a woman in Mt Maunganui in 1989. Andrea Black, from Rape Crisis,
has no doubt the trial, or an earlier one involving Louise Nicholas, would
have turned out differently if the jury knew about the convictions. She says while everybody has the
right to a fair trial, juries also need to be aware of the bigger picture
when considering verdicts. But the Criminal Bar Association
is standing by rules preventing juries from knowing about defendants'
previous criminal convictions. It says that could too easily lead
to miscarriages of justice. Last year, a jury cleared the
three of 20 charges of sexual violation and indecent assault against Rotorua
woman Louise Nicholas in 1986. The jury of seven women and five
men delivered its verdict on 31 March 2006 after three days of deliberations
following a 2½-week trial at the High Court in Leaflets alerting the public to
the One of those involved says there
is a double standard operating in the courts when it comes to suppression. A Commission of Inquiry into wider
police conduct is due to report to the Government at the end of the month. Mr Rickards remains on suspension
pending the outcome of a hearing on his future employment with New Zealand
Police. |
